


Safe Haven

by CaribMermaid



Series: Daredevil Continued [8]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fist Fights, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Knives, Non-Graphic Smut, Safety, safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25638154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaribMermaid/pseuds/CaribMermaid
Summary: One of Matt’s purposes in life is to keep others safe, but what does it take for him to feel safe?
Relationships: Frank Castle & Karen Page, Frank Castle & Matt Murdock, Matt Murdock/Karen Page
Series: Daredevil Continued [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1482635
Comments: 29
Kudos: 24
Collections: Karedevil Bingo





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation to the “Please Let Me In” story, but can be read separate.  
> Thanks to the amazing writers steelorchids and irelandhoneybee for being my betta readers and for all their encouragement. Please check out their beautiful works in Ao3.  
> Karedevil Bingo Prompt: Safe

Matt was rushing back home from a long night of crime fighting, he wished Karen was there waiting for him. They were still building up their relationship — whatever it was — and she would stay at his apartment on some nights, especially if they worked on cases until late. When he left, she had not decided whether to stay or go to her place yet. 

He arrived at his rooftop but something did not feel right. The sweet fruity scent of Karen’s perfume was there, but there was also a stronger than usual smell of steel and gunpowder in his apartment, and one fast but steady heartbeat, not Karen’s. Dex came to his mind all of the sudden. Karen is in danger, that was all he could think of for a moment. Then he remembered his last encounter with this impressive marksman, which left him with a bullet hole under his shoulder. He needed to come up with a plan, fast. 

Matt cut off the electricity to his building and sneaked inside his apartment. Karen was nowhere to be found, only a scarf still holding her scent was left behind on the couch. Dex was in Matt’s bedroom and came out looking for light. Matt ambushed him with a surprise kick which did little effect on him. Dex punched him back and Matt could hear his jaw bones cracking. Matt fell on the floor giving Dex a good distance between them and the intruder took advantage of this by throwing whatever he could find at Matt. Matt stood up at the first chance he got and kicked and punched him with all his strength. His fists were bleeding, his feet and legs were hurting from the impacts, which did very little damage. Matt kept kicking and punching while Dex was blocking the hits and slowly moving towards the kitchen. Once close, he ran and quickly got ahold of the knives which he threw at him. Matt tried to dodge but got stabbed by several of them all over his body. Matt hid behind his living room chair and pulled the knives out biting a scream of pain. 

“Come out, wherever you are”, Dex said singsongly, spinning a knife in his hand. 

Matt crawled through the shadows and got closer to his dining table. Dex was at the other side looking for him. Matt grabbed a chair and hit him from behind, breaking it on his back, he then threw the table at him too, and Dex threw the knife at Matt, slashing his rib cage. They kept throwing stuff at each other and soon his place was a destruction zone and he was losing blood everywhere. 

Matt decided to escape, it was obvious that Karen had left the apartment and if he remained there he was going to die. He ran up the stairs to the roof as fast as he could and kept running until he reached the edge. He jumped from building to building and Dex followed him. Where could he go? Definitely not Clinton Church or Saint Agnes because Pointdexter would expect him to go there, he thought. He didn't want to jeopardize anyone’s safety so he ran without a destiny, climbing and jumping and sliding through buildings; until he was able to lose Dex. He finally stopped in an alleyway between two buildings to catch his breath. Soon he felt lightheaded, then he felt like everything around him began to spin faster and faster. Suddenly, there was no sound, no pain, no feeling. 

________________________________________________________________________ 

Karen woke up before dawn and took a look at her phone to see if there was any news from Matt. He always texted her when he got home. She convinced him to do it after what happened in his last encounter with Pointdexter a few months ago. There were no new messages. 

He must have come home late and forgot to text, she thought, trying to calm herself. It was almost time to get up anyway so she decided to call him. There was no answer, so she called him again and Matt picked up the phone, but she only heard his labored breathing. 

“Matt? Matt are you okay?”

“K - Karen,” he replied with a groggy voice. 

“Matt, what happened?” So many questions came to her mind.

“My… my apartment was… compromised.” 

“Where are you?”

“I think… I’m close to your place.” He paused to breathe. “In an alley, behind a bar.” His voice was very weak and he sounded out of breath. 

“Okay, I’m on my way,” she said, taking her car keys and a hoodie to cover her pajamas. “Please don’t hang up, stay with me.” She started to think where Matt could be, there were a few bars close to where she lived. 

“Is there anything else you can tell me? Something that would help me find you.” She got into the car and turned it on. 

“I can hear cars, I can smell bread.”

“Okay that’s helpful.” 

It was still early enough that the traffic was not too bad, she checked a couple of dark alleys until she saw a black figure reclined beside a dumpster and surrounded by black trash bags. She had to look twice to make sure it was him and not some random rubbish. 

“Matt!” She ran to him and embraced him. 

He groaned in pain, then started to tremble. She released him and noticed several stabs all over his body. All the blood was mostly dried on his clothes but he looked as pale as a ghost, even with his mask on. 

“I think you should take off your mask and get in the car with me,” she said while covering him with her jacket. 

He could barely get a hand up to take off his mask. She took it off for him, put it inside the jacket’s pocket and covered his head with the hood. Then she helped him stand up and put an arm around him, getting him close so that he could support his body weight on her. She was hoping that anyone that saw them thought that they were just a couple of drunks. They slowly walked to her car while Matt covered the wound on his side with one hand. 

“Should I call Sister Maggie?” she asked while helping him get in. 

“Yes, warn her about Dex. He’ll probably go there looking for me.” 

Karen got into the car and turned it on. “But what about your wounds?”

“Call Claire,” he said, before passing out in the passenger’s seat. 

__________________________________________________________________ 

There was a warm feeling on Matt’s hand, he moved his fingers, trying to get a better feel of what it was. It was a hand, her skin felt soft as silk and smelled like a summer day in Central Park, like Karen’s scent. It was her, he slowly started to hear her heartbeat. 

“Karen...”

“I’m here, you are safe,” she said, in a low, sweet voice. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, please rest.” 

He could feel her touch over his head, her fingers sinking into his hair, soothing him back to sleep. 

Matt woke up again surrounded by cottony sheets. The fragrance of cooked onions, garlic, tomatoes and chicken broth made his stomach rumble. One of his hands searched for Karen desperately. He moved the other but it hurt, he felt an IV needle stuck into his veins, pumping cold liquid. 

“Hey you,” Karen said, walking closer to him. 

“The church, are they safe?” 

“Don’t worry, Luke and Danny are there,” she replied, while softly touching his forehead. 

“Foggy...” Matt tried to sit but moaned in pain.

“Jessica is with him.” She helped him sit up and put extra pillows under his back. “Oh by the way, you now have Jessica’s blood. You needed a blood transfusion and Jess’ was the only one compatible with yours. Foggy said to watch out for more sarcastic remarks than usual.”

“What about here?”

“Frank is keeping watch on us and Mahoney is after Dex.” She rearranged the bedsheets around him. “Also, Claire is coming back after her shift to check on you. She asked me to tell you to stop being a martyr.”

He tried to think of things that could go wrong, but she got all the bases covered, his family and friends were safe and she was taking care of him. What more could he ask for? 

“I hope you are hungry, I made soup, it has everything but the sink.” She giggled, but stopped quickly. 

Matt got overcome by emotion, his lips trembled, his eyes watered, and although he tried, he could not contain the tears anymore. 

“Matt, what’s wrong?” She got in bed and enveloped him in her long arms.

What did I do to deserve her love? She has lied to me, kept secrets from me, but there’s one thing I’m sure of, she loves me, I don’t know why, but she does and I know I can trust her with my life. Even though I have pushed her away time after time, she would not abandon me, she is stubborn, fearless and compassionate.

He stopped sobbing. “I promised that I would keep you safe and here I am…” He felt her thumb over his lips.

“Please, don’t do this to yourself, you don’t deserve it. You have saved me in so many ways, I’m just returning the favor.” She positioned his head over her chest, the sound of her heartbeat made him feel peace and he slowly calmed down. 

“I’m sorry, I…,” he cleared his throat. “Thank you, for all that you’ve done.”

“Don’t mention it.” She continued to caress his hair, but they were interrupted by the complaints of his hungry stomach. 

They chuckled. “I’ll bring dinner.” Karen got out of bed and Matt waited, trying to think but his brain refused to do it, he felt exhausted. Karen came back with the soup a little after. 

“I hope you like it. Frank said it was delicious but I think he was just being nice.” She put the tray in front of him. 

“Smells good,” Matt said, taking the spoon. His hands were shaky, he got a spoonful of soup but he was just spilling it all over.

“Let me…” She carefully took the spoon off his hand and put it close to his mouth. 

He took it in. “Thank you, it is delicious.” 

He finished eating the flavorful concoction and Karen cleaned up around his mouth with a napkin and gave him water to drink. 

“I’ll take this to the kitchen and be right back.” 

That was the last thing he heard her say before falling asleep again. 

__________________________________________________________________ 

Karen woke up to his screams, his hands were searching desperately for something.

“Matt, you’re okay, I’m here, I’m here,” she said, holding his hand. “It was just a nightmare.”

“He was here, he came for me and he killed you.” He was panting and sweating, his eyes wide open but not focusing anywhere. “I can’t…” he swallowed. “I can’t lose you.” 

“You won’t.” She hugged him. “I’m right here. I have my gun under the pillow,” she whispered, not sure if it was going to be of any relief for him, but it was for her. “Plus, Frank is sleeping on the couch.” 

There were a couple of knocks on the door. 

“You okay in there?” Frank’s raspy voice asked. 

“Yes, we are good,” Karen answered. 

“‘K I’ll go make coffee.”

She was waiting for Matt to object, but he didn’t say anything, maybe he was still too upset to register that a mass murderer was making coffee just a few feet away. 

“Are you feeling better?” Karen looked at Matt, his bruised face was relaxed and his breathing slowed down. 

“Yes, sorry to wake you up, you should go back to sleep.”

“I hope you don’t mind… Frank being here.” 

Matt smiled. “You don’t know? I’m capable of doing anything to protect you. Even if it means pairing up with a killer like Frank.”

They embraced and held each other so strongly that Karen got afraid to hurt Matt, but he didn’t protest. She kissed his neck, then his cheek, and finally his lips — then held his face between her hands. 

She looked into his dead eyes. “I would do anything to keep you safe too.”

Matt’s face illuminated with a smile. “I know.”


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a brutal fight with Bullseye, which left Matt almost dead and homeless, he found refuge with Karen in her apartment. The Defenders, in addition to Frank, are still keeping Matt’s family and friends safe while Bullseye is on the loose and Matt is recovering. In this chapter, Karen has a heart to heart with Frank which helps reveal her true feelings. Also, Matt and Karen talk about why she didn’t stay at Matt’s apartment the night of the attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for those who wanted this story to continue, I hope you enjoyed it.

Karen woke up to a clatter noise coming from outside her bedroom. She slid her hand under her pillow and took her gun. She got out of bed like a dandelion seed in a breeze. Leaving Matt asleep, she gently closed the door behind her. 

She raised her gun and pointed it to the figure standing a few feet in front of her. 

“Are you gonna shoot me, ma’am?” 

She then recognized the dark-haired man with the crew haircut and broad back.

“Shit! Frank, you scared me,” Karen said while lowering her gun. 

“Mornin’,” Frank said, slowly turning to face her with his hands up, one of them holding a cup. 

“Good morning.”

She brushed her hair out of her face with her shaky hand and sat at the table, putting her gun aside. 

“Want some coffee?” 

“Yes, please.”

He grabbed a new cup and started pouring the hot liquid. 

“Have you had any sleep?” Frank asked.

“Not much, not until that asshole is put behind bars.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on it. So are you and Red finally together?” Frank said while putting the steaming mug in front of her. 

Karen grabbed it with both hands, pausing for a moment to close her eyes and enjoy the energizing yet soothing aroma. 

“We’re friends.” 

Karen took a sip of her coffee without taking her eyes off of him. 

“Friends that sleep together,” he laughed. “What do the kids call it these days?” Frank said, making a gesture like he was trying to search for the word. “Friends with benefits?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “You should lower your voice. He’s gonna wake up.”

“He’s been through shit, Karen, he’s gone.” Frank smiled and sat opposed to her.

“You’d be surprised, he’s very resilient,” said Karen while moving the cup closer to her lips. 

“That’s true — so are you gonna answer my question or are you gonna keep giving me bullshit?”

“Like I said, we’re friends.”

“Uhum,” Frank hummed and drank. 

“Look, we sleep in the same bed once in a while, when he’s hurt or when I’m too tired to go back home. It’s platonic.” She paused to look at her half empty cup. “Why am I telling you this? It’s none of your business,” she said, shaking her head and looking back at him.

Frank chuckled. “I know you can work things out. He’s a good man.”

“He has lots of issues.”

“Who doesn’t?” Frank looked directly into Karen’s eyes. “You think it would be easier with me?” 

She looked down again like wanting to get drowned in the coffee. 

“At least you're honest with me and you don't judge me.” Karen replied.

“Does he really?”

Karen looked at him with a puzzled expression. 

“Does he really judge you?”

“He judges you for killing for justice.” 

“I think he’s not the one judging you.” He took a last sip of coffee and put the cup on the table. “You should stop bullshitting yourself. Call me if you need anything, I’m going back to my position,” he said, standing up and taking his backpack.

* * *

Karen was finishing her coffee when she heard Matt’s soft groans coming from her room. She left her mug on the table, took her gun and quickly walked to her bedroom. Matt was inspecting his wounded side with his fingers. Karen put the gun away and sat in bed beside him. 

“It doesn’t look as bad as it feels — not anymore.” She smiled and took his hand, moving it away from his wound. 

He didn’t make any effort to resist. 

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. I just need to meditate,” he said, wincing while trying to sit in bed.

“You look better, your bruises are healing and you’re getting a little bit of color on your cheeks.” 

She caressed one of them with her thumb and a small smile cut through his pained face. 

“How did Dex get into your apartment?” Karen asked.

“I don’t know. He was there when I arrived.” 

“You didn’t, umm, sense him?”

“Yes, but I also smelled your scent, so I thought you were in trouble. That's why I got in.”

“My scarf!” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I was so stupid.” 

“It's okay. How would you know?” 

He took her hand and caressed it with his thumb. 

“I just wanted to have a night by myself,” Karen said. 

“I understand. I’m sorry that destiny didn’t agree.”

“This is why I’m torn between staying and leaving. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by you. My logic tells me that I shouldn’t be with you—”

“Karen, you—”

“Shush, let me finish. I know you are far from being the ideal boyfriend, but then I see you fight for justice in court and on the streets. I see the way you change people’s life for the better and I want to be part of it. But you don’t let me, you want to protect me, so that’s why I want to leave.” Karen paused to take a deep breath. “But then I stay because I feel like I’m holding you by a thread, and if I let go, I’ll lose you forever.” 

“What do you mean?”

“What if... what if I didn’t call you? What If I didn’t get there on time? You would’ve bled out.”

Matt lowered his head with a sad expression on his face. 

“I want to make you part of my life, my whole life, but Dex is just too dangerous. You’ve seen what he’s done to me. I can’t let him near you.” 

“Then we need to come up with a plan, together. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and by now we know his strengths and weaknesses; let's use them to our advantage.”

“He used to have weaknesses, but I feel like he no longer has any. He’s faster, stronger and he seems to feel no pain.”

“Feeling no pain is not an advantage, our bodies use pain as a signal to protect us. If he feels no pain, he’s unprotected in some way.” 

“You are right, maybe there is a way to catch him without him even noticing.”

“Right. We need to tell the others,” Karen said, while grabbing her phone. 

“His beef’s with me Karen, they put him in a mental institution because of the evidence I found. Dex is my problem.” He put his hand on her phone. 

“Listen, I know you wanted to catch Dex by yourself, but you are here alive by my side thanks to our friends. I think we should let go of our pride and let others help us once in a while.” She moved her phone away from his hand and got out of the bed.

Matt stayed in bed, frowning, but silent while she dialed.

She positioned her mobile over her ear and looked at him. “You need time to heal Matt. Just for once, please let the others take care of this,” she said, while waiting for someone to pick up. 

“Hey Foggy. Is Jessica around?”

* * *

They all came up with a plan. Jessica located Dex. Frank shot him with a tranquilizer from a safe distance without him even noticing. Then Luke and Danny were able to catch him without anyone getting hurt in the process. They called Detective Mahoney and he got arrested and sent to maximum security at Rykers prison while awaiting trial. 

The next morning Karen woke up to Matt by her side. He was still asleep and she didn’t want to wake him up so she stayed in bed. She was appreciating his half naked body close to her and soaking in his radiating warmth. He looked so much better, his lips were getting that reddish color that she found irresistible. 

“Are you all right?” he asked, without opening his eyes.

“No,” she sighed. “It’s getting more and more difficult for me to sleep with you.”

He prompted himself up and sat by the edge of the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the sofa so you can sleep better.”

“Don’t be silly. You know what I want, I know you can sense it.”

“I know what your body tells me, but you told me something different. You said that we can sleep together but you don’t want any sex.”

“I know what I said, but I’m changing my mind.”

“I don’t want you to do anything that you’ll regret later. If we do this, I want you to be completely sure and I want our relationship to be official. I know it sounds antiquated, but I want a label.”

“I know. I’ve been thinking about it too, how I used to feel about you and how much you’ve changed, how much we’ve changed. You know, I was talking with Frank the other day about us and the reasons why we’re not together.” 

She paused and looked up trying to contain the tears that were threatening to spill over her rosy cheeks.

“God, I’ve been trying to bury my feelings for you for so long, but they are so obvious. Everyone around me can see them. The more I try to ignore them, the more they scream that I’m in love with you.” 

He was still sitting in bed, his head bowed in silence.

She continued, “you’ve put up so many layers between us, but lately, you’ve been slowly peeling them off for me.”

She surrounded him with her arms, kissed his nape and then pressed her cheek to his shoulder. 

“What do you think about the Boyfriend label?”

He turned his face towards her and she moved to look at him. 

”It has a nice ring.”

“I like the sound of The Girlfriend too.” 

She kissed him, savoring the lips that she had been craving all morning. She lay down in bed pulling him with her and he continued kissing while getting on top of her. 

He hissed and touched his covered wound, breaking the spell that was bringing them closer. But Karen wasn’t ready to give up that magical moment.

“You don’t need to do anything. Just lie down.”

Matt did as she said. She sat beside him and caressed his cheek with her thumb — being careful to not get too close to a bruise — and moved the hair out of his forehead with her fingers, revealing a cut that was almost healed. She then followed his jawline down to his chin and kissed him there. She kissed his lower lip, sucking it up a little, then tasted his upper lip with her tongue. He smiled, maybe feeling a little ticklish. Then she gently positioned herself on top of him and lowered his boxers down — the only piece of clothing he had on. 

She undressed in front of him; prompting memories of the first time she was in his apartment, her clothes were wet and she asked him if she could change them. When he came back with a dry shirt, she undressed in front of him. Although he was a stranger, she knew that he would not harm her, and he could not see her after all — at least that’s what she thought. 

“Do you know what I look like when I’m naked?”

“I have an idea.” He positioned his hands on each side of her hips. “I can form an image of you in my head from what I can sense — the movement of air and particles around you, the way the sound waves bounce against your skin, and the heat coming from your body give me an idea of how you look without touching or actually seeing you.”

She beamed and let her hands land on his arms and then travel all the way up to his shoulders. She lowered herself to kiss him once again. 

“I know I said that what I have is better than sight, but I still wish I could see you now, at least for a moment, and then live the rest of my life with your image in my head.” He laughed. “It sounds kinda creepy when I say it out loud.”

Her heart melted and she could feel her eyes tickle with tears once again. She held them back and released a smile, then took his chin between her fingers. 

“Not to me... You wanna know why?” 

He nodded. 

“Because of all the things you can choose to see, you chose me.” 

They stayed like that, frozen in the moment.

Matt, breaking the silence, asked, “what are you thinking?”

“I just hope I’m worth it.”

He put his hand on her nape and gently pulled her closer to him and kissed her, firmly, hungrily. His hands followed the path of her spine, then rested on the curve at the end. His mouth moved down to her collar bone and then tasted her all the way down to her breasts. 

“Oh, Karen, you’re so worth it... So worth it,” he said, like a praise. 

The lines of his hips met the curves of her body. She took him in and enjoyed the sweet fullness for a moment. His hands started to explore the path between her legs, encouraging her to stir her hips. She kissed him more and more until her face felt on fire from the friction of his stubble, but she didn’t mind, his lips were her addiction. 

He ran his fingertips like feathers all the way up her spine bringing shivers everywhere he touched. Then came back to her center, insisting on making her high. 

She kept stirring and grinding their bodies together and her skin got covered in a thin mist, like rose petals in the morning. Her touch was like a balm calming his bruises, ushering love and happiness to his life. Her womb provided the potion that made his body go numb with pleasure. 

Karen collapsed beside him, her hair fell like silk on Matt’s cheek and he ran his fingers through it, like he was trying to feel every strand. He then lay on his side, facing her and traced his finger from her temple to her chin. He planted a kiss on her lips and she kissed back, smiling with closed eyes. 

“God, this feels like a dream,” he whispered.

“I promise you that I’ll be here when you wake up. Now sleep, sweetheart.” 

And for once, they were able to forget their troubles and fell asleep like infants in each other’s arms.

* * *

They came back to Matt’s apartment a few days later. Karen looked around and had to swallow the lump forming in her throat. It looked like a crime scene from one of those murder investigation shows that she liked to watch. There was blood splattered all over the walls, the broken furniture and the floor. It was his blood, but he was there by her side. It felt so surreal. She was not religious but she let out a silent prayer, thanking the angels that guarded him. 

Karen saw Matt holding something in his hand. She couldn’t discern what it was since his back was turned towards her. She got close to him and saw him holding her scarf. 

“I thought I’d lost you,” he said without moving.

Before realizing it, she was hugging him. 

“I’m right here.” 

She placed her head on his shoulder and they stayed like that for a moment. 

“Just grab whatever you need and let’s go home,” she said. 

“Home?” 

He didn’t move even after she released him. “I know it’s hard, you have so many memories here, but it’s not safe anymore. I know my place isn’t ideal, but it’s just temporary.” 

He smiled. “It’s perfect.”

She laughed. “Perfect?”

“Yes, because you’re there.” 

He turned to face her and planted a kiss on her lips. 

“Are you saying you wanna move in with me, Mr. Murdock?”

"I’ve been trying to keep you away from my dark side for so long because I don’t want to put you in danger, but danger is part of our lives. No matter where we go, it’ll always follow us, yet we always manage to take care of each other.”

“That’s right, you need someone to keep you company and I need someone to keep me safe.”

“I thought you didn’t want my protection.”

“Well, I can compromise once in a while.”

“So, what are we gonna tell our friends when they ask?”

“We can tell them it’s official.”

He picked her up and kissed her chest and she giggled, surprised.

**Author's Note:**

> This story may or may not continue.


End file.
